Payments part of amnesty granted to militants in 2009 on condition they stop carrying out attacks.

The Nigerian government has resumed payments to militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. The payments are part of an amnesty program granted to militants in 2009 on condition they stop carrying out oil pipeline attacks and kidnappings in the volatile area.

The government stopped the payments in February, angering militants who accused authorities of breaching the amnesty program.

"We expect the amnesty to be paid tonight [2 August] to 30,000 youths involved in the amnesty programme. The Central Bank has released the money," the amnesty programme's spokesman Piriye Kiyaramo told the BBC.

Militant groups in the Niger Delta took hold in the early 2000s following the deterioration of people's living conditions worsened by environmental problems and oil spillages blamed on foreign oil exploration companiesGetty

Negotiations and military offensive

NDA, which emerged at the beginning of the year, keeps denying claims that negotiations with the government are ongoing.

Militant groups in the oil-rich Niger Delta region took hold in the early 2000s following the deterioration of people's living conditions blamed on the increase of oil-related activities by foreign exploration corporations. Tensions flared up in the local communities as some ethnic groups felt they were being exploited and did not benefit from the crude oil on their land.

The repeated oil spills that considerably damaged the environment and affected people's health further deepened the communities' frustrations. After being elected in 2015, Buhari extended a 2009 amnesty granted to 30,000 former militants in the area.